Step One
by Trembling Rose
Summary: The trio had been denied the opportunity to be real teenagers and so, a year after the defeat of Xemnas and the responsibility that had been forced upon them; they meet the life that had been taken from them: the hardships of being a teenager. RxOC SxK
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Kingdom Hearts. I do own Sariah O. Silvestre and Danielle Willis.

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_Prologue _

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Dear Sora, Riku, and Kairi,

It has been brought to my attention that just after we had defeated one foe, another is already in the works but due to lack of information, I must put you on hold. I personally shall go and find out any information I can but for right now, you all must live normal lives. You cannot tell anybody of the adventures you have had because no one will believe you. With great help from my master Yen Sid, we have erased the last year in people's thoughts just like Ansem the Wise did with your memories of Sora. Your families and friends will not notice that you have aged or look different; they will only think in their minds that you have changed over a year that has been fabricated in their minds. A dream you could say. With that, I say fair well for now.

Yours truly,

The King Mickey

The paper suddenly felt like it was a feather in Sora's hands when it had felt like a ton of lead before. "No one knows we were gone…" He said in hopeful disbelief.

"We can start over." Sora heard Riku mutter quietly.

Looking to his right, Sora saw Kairi looking at him with a look he couldn't describe. "Well… it's going to be hard to try and be normal."

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… A Year Later

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_Traverse__ Town__, 1: 23 A.M._

It had taken a while to get here, but to Riku it was well worth the trip in the gummi ship. The flashing green and yellow lights opened his eyes and the pounding music brought a deep beat within his chest. He had never been to this club, but he had heard good things.

If Sora and Kairi knew about his secret, they would think he was ill. Riku in a club? That was strange. Riku in a club and finding that it brought a feeling he loved? Even stranger. He couldn't help himself though. The music, the lights, the love he got from all the girls that wanted to dance with him… it was an amazing feeling that his damaged heart felt it could get used to. Would it help him find the light that he was still so desperate to find even after a year of ridding himself from Ansem's shadow? Probably not, but to be surrounded by a certain darkness that didn't actually seem to taint their souls brought a sense of self. He could be himself here and not worry about being blinded by a light he had not found yet.

Taking in a deep breath, the smell of alcohol made bile rise in his throat but as he approached the bar on the far corner, he couldn't help himself from asking the bar tender for a shot.

"You twenty-one, kid?"

Riku took out his I.D. and showed it to the bar tender, it took a second, and it almost looked as if the guy was seeing through his bluff before the bar tender smiled and took out a shot glass. "The name's Wade. What'll it be?"

"Straight vodka."

Wade muttered a 'will do' before a bottle of Smirnoff vodka appeared in his right hand only to be drizzled into the glass that metaphorically had Riku's name on it. With a smile, Wade put the small taste of alcohol in front of a Riku before running his hand through his short dark brown hair. "Mr. Riku Altria, what brings you to the wonderful Kryptonite club? You get dumped or just looking for some ass, or both?"

With a wave of his hand and a shake of his head, Riku downed the drink. It burned on the way down and for a second, he thought he was going to vomit but after swallowing a second time and a clearing of his throat, he was fine. His eyes burned a little but he still had not become accustomed to the taste of alcohol and assumed in time, it wouldn't make him react the same.

"You look like everyone else in this building."

"How so?" Riku asked as he returned the shot glass to Wade's side of the bar.

"It's easy," the tanned man said. "You're running from something. See that girl over there that's dancing with the 'wanna be fraternity jock'?"

Riku turned and saw the girl immediately. Her hair was brown but turned a strange black in the multiple lights, her make up was starting to drip from all the sweat she was emitting and her attire clearly screamed that she wanted attention. It's almost like he could feel the depression radiating off of her. "What about her?" He asked as he took one last look before looking back at Wade, butterflies suddenly invading his stomach.

"She calls herself Tana and comes here every night. Last time I talked to her she claimed that it was because she wanted to meet new friends but we all know she had a kid at fourteen and is leaving him in the arms of her mother who her child calls 'momma'. She's here to escape from the life she lives in hopes of starting a new one. I know that if she had the chance, she would escape her old life to live this one. Even if it is a mask."

The oak wood bar seemed to glistening in the multitude of lights as Riku stared at it. He agreed with Wade. Even though he hadn't changed the way he looked or his name, he was living the same life as Tana. He had been for a year now.

His eyes glanced towards Wade, the taste of bile reentered his mouth and he shook his head. "I'll uh… see you later Wade."

"Did I scare you off, kid?"

"Nah," Riku lied as he held his head high and straightened his shoulders, his façade back from earlier. "I'm just going to find a dance partner is all." With a look of what he hoped was egotistical, Riku turned his back on Wade and forced himself through the crowd. Just as he was about to leave the club, a shimmer of red caught his eye. He looked to his left and just as he saw her, she was gone. _Must've been my imagination._

The open night air felt good and he couldn't stop himself from coughing as he left the bar and entered an alley that was on the right side of the club. His back hit the wall rather roughly, the coughs becoming more agitated as he slid down the brick wall. Tears began to flow from his saddened eyes and he fought to breathe in the open air. _What am I doing here?_ He thought solemnly.

A sudden sound to his right brought his attention to a rat that was jumping from a trash can. It looked at him and Riku felt as if he was being hit in the gut. Orange eyes stared at him before the rat turned his back and skittered off with a piece of rotting food in its mouth.

_I've got to get out of here._

…

_Destiny__ Island__, 1:23 A.M._

Kairi couldn't sleep.

Her mother was out again with her boyfriend of three months. From what Kairi could tell, he was a jerk that was only into her mother in hopes of getting the "rich life". While Kairi was not necessarily rich, her house was two stories high and was built by her father when she was extremely young, almost looking like a house out of a fairytale. While she didn't know what world she was from, she knew she must've been from some sort of royalty after she was declared a "Princess".

With a sigh, Kairi turned over on her back and stared at the old glow in the dark stars that still glittered her ceiling. Now that she thought about it, she felt way too old for those stars. She had admired them before her adventures but now she was more mature, more aware of the dangers outside of Destiny Island.

A sudden click from her window brought her attention to the moon lit sky. She waited two seconds to see if it was only a one-time random occurrence but the sight of a pebble hitting her window only to be followed by another had her lifting her comforter. Once she reached the window, a smile lit up her face like the moon lit up the sky.

There was Sora, a pebble in his hand and his normal smirk on his face, his white shirt and grey shorts making her think he had just slipped them on.

Kairi opened her window and relished in the feel of the ocean breeze. "What are you doing?" she giggled.

"I had a sixth sense that you were in trouble."

"In trouble?"

"I knew you'd be worried about your mom since she went out with that 'Charles' guy so I thought what would be the best thing to do to cheer you up? I came up with taking you to the island." He said as he lifted his arms and gave her a smile.

With a smile of promise in return, she held her finger up as if to say "one-second" before closing her window.

Five minutes later, Kairi emerged in a tank top and shorts and to Sora she never looked more beautiful.

"Shall we go, milady?" Sora joked as he lifted his elbow.

Putting a piece of hair she hadn't got in her bun behind her ear, Kairi took his arm; "You think going to the island can fix anything."

"Has it ever failed us?"

"Not yet."

The two began to walk down the dirt road and continued to chat and by the time they reached the beach, Kairi was no longer worried about her mother who was probably still out with Charles. She was more entranced by the man before her who had walked away in order to start untying the boat.

At some point over the years, he had changed from the wide-eyed boy that fought for her affections. Now, he was the matured man that was beginning to look like how he acted. His face was beginning to become chiseled as was his muscles, and he was starting to become rather tall. She actually had to look up in order to see his eyes and she loved it.

"Hey Sora?" He turned to her and stood at full height, reminding her once again of how tall he was becoming. Muttering a 'huh', he watched her as she said, "Why don't we just sit right here? We're at the beach and this way if my mom does happen to get home early, I can easily just get back to my house."

"Oh, okay." Sora quickly retied the boat back on the dock before he returned to her side and sat down.

They were right on the shore where the ocean met the land right at their feet, the coldness of the water running shivers down their spines. Sora saw Kairi visibly shiver and he put his arm around her in hopes in would give her the warmth she needed. Little did he know, it also brought warmth to her cheeks and made her heart flutter.

After they had saved Kingdom Hearts from Xemnas, Sora had shown Kairi how he felt. Sure it had taken him two weeks to finally gather the courage but the two were seemingly the perfect couple. He had brought her to the island and the Paopu tree, gathering one of the rare fruits before cutting it to look like her good luck charm and sharing it with her underneath the same sky they were under now.

Kairi was beautiful, charming, caring… he could think of all kinds of words that could describe her but still not give her enough credit. She was _his_ princess and he cherished her. Lately though, his thoughts had begun turning lustful and they almost scared him. The mornings were becoming numerous where he would find his sixteen going on seventeen year old body heated and thinking of Kairi.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Kairi put her head on his shoulder and he couldn't help himself, the last few months driving him crazy. Sora lifted his hand to tilt her head up; her big blue eyes making him catch his breath as he slowly leaned down. Their lips met and neither of them could breathe. It was like fireworks were going off in each of their minds and something snapped in Sora. The feeling of her lips on him drove him wild and he couldn't help himself from leaning forward, forcing her on her back. Just as he was hoping for something more, his hand leaving the sand in hopes of burying them in her hair, she put her own hands on his chest, pushing him off of her.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Nervously, Kairi sat back up and looked at the ocean; "I just… can't go any further right now."

It grew quiet as the wind slowly played with their hair. They both began to think the same thing: _Cause if we did… I wouldn't be able to stop._

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**AN:** What do you think? I'm just dabblin' with the idea.

- _Trembling Rose_


	2. Chapter One

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_Chapter One_

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_Destiny Island, 8:00 A.M._

Sora had to admit that school was one thing he didn't miss from his adventures. Like the average person, the first day jitters littered his body and he unconsciously gripped his back pack as it weighed on his shoulders. _Why is school harder to defeat than an evil powered nobody or heartless? Wait… I'm supposed to 'forget' about them while I'm here. I can't let my guard down. It was hard enough last school year._

"Sora, are you okay?" Kairi said to his right, her tiny hand clenching his in hopes of getting his attention. "You've been spacing out and I had to pull you away from hitting a pole."

He simply replied with a 'yeah' and his normal smile before returning to the spaced out Keyblade warrior he was a second ago. Shaking her head, Kairi smiled as they reached Riku who had been waiting for them outside the school. He was leaning casually against the stonewall that held the gate, his uniform sleeves rolled up to his shoulders and a black studded belt holding up his pants. If she didn't know better, she wouldn't be surprised if he got gages and piercings cause he seemed to be going that way. Lately, Riku had been worrying both Sora and Kairi. _Maybe he just needs to find someone_, Kairi thought with a smile as she looked at Sora who seemed to have released himself from his daze to say something to Riku about how he was sporting the bad boy look perfectly.

Riku smirked as they got closer, "Well if there must be a bad boy, it might as well be me."

The trio entered the school as new and refreshing juniors, a whole new year ahead of them.

…

_It's too bad we can't all be in the same class_, Riku thought begrudgingly as he slid back into his chair, his long silver hair covering his eyes. To anyone, it looked as if he was asleep but he was wide awake, watching as the teacher seemed excited about some new student.

The female teacher known as Ms. Hoshina clapped her hands together and began to introduce the new student. "Now, everyone, she is from another island on the other side of the ocean. From what her school said about her, she is a straight A student that is very talented and we are all very excited to have her so everyone, please welcome Sariah Océane Silvestre."

Rolling his eyes, Riku huffed, the tips of his silver bangs tickling his forehead. _What's the big deal? Can we just get started?_ He glanced in Sariah's direction and for a second he was curious. _She almost looks like the girl I saw at the club._

Riku took in her appearance and the memory became more vivid. She had the same bright red hair, green eyes…

Riku was suddenly brought out of his thoughts by Ms. Hoshina saying, "Did I say it right, Sariah?"

White teeth shined in a smile as Sariah nodded, "Yes ma'am, you did."

"Am I correct in saying its French?" Sariah nodded. "Well, thank you for choosing our school. You can have a seat over there."

Sariah did what Ms. Hoshina said and went to the left side of the room by the windows and sat down in the desk that was in the third row back. Riku could see the back of her head but merely glanced at her before rolling his eyes. She was average in his mind. _A little too average…_

…

_I wonder how Riku's doing…_ Sora began to think as he stared at the white board in front of him, his arm holding his head up as it resting against the desk, his head cocked to the right. _He's probably bored out of his mind like I am._ He was so bored, he was even sighing in his mind, his eyes lazily watching the teacher telling them about what they would be doing this year. _Mr. Dee needs to find a girl friend. He's starting to turn creeper… Ooh! Maybe he should date Mrs. Hoshina! _A plan began to form in his mind and he began to smile but that smile soon turned curious as the loud sound of running footsteps echoed in the hallway.

"What the…?" Putting the dry erase marker down, Mr. Dee walked to the door and just as he was about to open it, a girl with black hair emerge from the hall way, panting and holding herself up by her hands on her knees. "Who are you?"

The girl panted a few more times and within the small silence, Sora gave her a once over, noticing a pair of worn out black converses on her feet, silly bands of all colors on both her wrists and a house key hanging from a ribbon that was tied around her neck. _She's the only other person on the island that really looks gothic other than Riku._

At that point, she seemed to be able to breathe enough to speak, so with a hand on her heart, she stood at full height and said, "The name's Danielle Willis. What's yours?"

Mr. Dee stuttered before fixing his glasses on his face. "I am the teacher and you may call me Mr. Dee. Why are you late, young lady?"

Sora snorted mentally;_ Creeper_.

"I slept in." Danielle said simply as she shrugged.

"Do you even have a book bag?"

She nodded and turned around. A small back pack hung from her shoulders and seemed to only hold a small notebook. "Is that all you needed, Mr. Dee Dee?"

_Haha, it looks like Mr. Dee is going to explode!_ Sora laughed mentally as he watched the teacher's face turn purple. He wasn't the only one; everyone in the room was laughing with him at Mr. Dee's face and Danielle's smug look.

With one last feeling of power and bravado, Mr. Dee pointed outside of the room as he said, "Detention, Miss Willis!"

Danielle rolled her eyes and did a one-eighty before marching out of the class room.

"Does she even know where detention is, Mr. Dee?" Someone from the back asked.

Everyone got quiet as they watched Mr. Dee's face turn red before he left the classroom in hopes of catching a glimpse of the delinquent teen but was rewarded with an empty hallway. An aggravated sigh left the teacher and made his students giggle before he huffed and went back to what he had been doing before he was so 'rudely interrupted by one of the worst students he had ever seen,' or so Sora heard.

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_11: 45 A.M._

"She was so crazy!" Sora exclaimed as he described the student who had received a detention as a welcome to the school. "She was so your type Riku, really. She has the exact same style as you and-"

"-and you should ignore her." Kairi finished. "She's bad news. We don't need to get into that. We could be called by the King at anytime and we can't leave our parents worrying about our behavior."

_Too late for that_, Riku thought as he recalled the last time he had gotten drunk which was only two days ago. _Mom was so close to finding me checked out in the bathroom. _

The trio continued to talk as they walked up the stairs towards the roof of the school. It was known as 'their spot' and no one dared to challenge it for fear or the wrath of Riku. Just as the silver haired teen was about to reach the last step that was in front of the door to the roof, Riku shushed the excited Keyblade warrior who was trying to get Kairi to join in his excitement over something Riku didn't care about. What Riku cared about in that moment was the conversation he could hear coming from the other side of the door.

"What is it?" Kairi whispered, her eyes warily watching the little window that was in the middle of the door, the light from the sun being the only source of light in the stairwell.

Riku eyed her, "You don't hear that?"

All three of them began to listen closely and the voices of two young women could be heard faintly through the small opening between the wall and the door.

"I know that voice!" Sora whispered. "It's the new girl, Danielle!"

"And the new girl, Sariah," Riku replied. "She's new in my class."

"There are two new girls?" Kairi answered, her face showing her curiosity. "What are the odds of two new people coming to Destiny Island?"

Riku shushed her again, receiving a glare in response, before putting his ear to the door, the voices of the two girls beginning to get louder.

"-can't believe you got detention of the first day, Dani! I thought we had to be good here!"

"Yes, good! Getting detention isn't bad! It happens all the time!"

"Maybe but we can't take any chances! I don't wanna go back to that damn Catholic school. I spent enough of my life in that prison!"

_Catholic school? _They all thought.

"Sariah…" They heard Dani whine. "We still have to wear a damn uniform!"

"And you're not following it, plus at least it's a cute uniform."

"So? How am I not following it?"

"Your shoes."

"You own converses!"

"Yes, but I am not wearing them. They are not apart of the uniform. _These_ shoes are."

"And they are ugly."

Sora sighed; "This is boring, I'm going down stairs to eat." As soon as he turned around, Kairi glanced at Riku before following her boyfriend down the steps. Riku watched them leave before he put his attention back on the two feuding girls. After a few seconds passed, Riku stood at full height and looked through the window. _Why is it quiet?_ Sariah was sitting on the left of who he assumed was Danielle, Sariah's bright red hair glowing gold in the sun light.

_Wow…_ He was suddenly pulled from his thoughts as Sariah began to speak; even Danielle had to lean in to hear.

"I-I just… don't want to go back. I don't want to see her… them… him… I don't want to see them ever again." Sariah turned to look at Danielle and Riku suddenly felt that he shouldn't be there. "I will die if I go back…"

…

_School Courtyard, 3:25 P.M._

He felt like an intruder. He had heard things he probably shouldn't have heard and it made him want to do a repeat of his weekend. He would probably end up on the bathroom floor again with a 'stomach ache'. With a sigh, Riku put his face in his hands as he continued to sit on the edge of the large water fountain. _The best thing to do is to ignore what I heard. I'll most likely never talk to her so what does it matter?_

Riku stood up slowly and shook his head before quickly walking towards the gate that would lead off of the school grounds. _I just need to go home and drink some bourb- _"Oof!"

"Ow!"

The sudden sound of a female voice stopped him from holding his head in favor of looking up, his face showing how shocked he was. "S-Sariah…!" _What the hell? I thought I just said I'll never talk to her?_ He watched as she rubbed her head, not yet noticing that he was staring at her. _Is that… a nose stud?_

It was almost like he hadn't really looked at her when she was introduced to the class because now, he didn't see her as average. It was like he was seeing through a cloud of smoke before while now, he was actually _looking_ at her.

Riku didn't notice that Sariah had stopped checking her injury in favor of looking at who had knocked her down on her bottom; he was so entranced by her forest green eyes. "Um… hello? Are you okay?" _Why is he staring at me?_ Sariah thought as she leaned forward ever so slightly, trying to see Riku's eyes underneath his bangs. "Did you hit your head?"

_What? Oh shit-!_ "Yeah, I-I'm okay," Riku stuttered, quickly dusting himself off and standing. "A-Are you okay?" His eyes gave her a once over, noticing how her skirt had ridden up her thighs, almost showing something he shouldn't see. He made sure to look her in the eyes when she dusted herself off before trying to get up. Muttering a 'here', he helped her to her feet, one hand on her back and the other lightly holding her own hand, treating her as if she were a doll.

Sariah flashed him a brilliant smile and Riku felt his heart flutter. "I'm fine. Thank you for helping me up. What's your name?"

"It's Riku."

"My name's Sariah… I believe I'm in your class, class 3B?"

Riku nodded as he put his hand in his pockets, trying to look as if he didn't care. "Yep, with Ms. Hoshina." He noticed how she checked him out in that quiet moment, her eyes lingering up his body until their eyes met. Her freckled nose and cheeks were dusted with an adorable pink before she looked away.

"Sariah!"

Said red head turned around to see her friend coming towards her, her black hair flying in the little wind she was making as she ran towards Sariah. She seemed rather excited from what Riku could tell.

As soon as she got to Sariah, Dani as Riku had heard her be called, put her hands on Sariah's shoulders as she said, "You will not believe this – wait who are you?"

For once in his life, Riku felt as if he was being determined as a threat or not towards someone he didn't even know. "The name's Riku," he said as he straightened his shoulders, still maintaining the 'I don't care' look. "I accidentally ran into Sariah here and we both fell. I think she's fine though." Looking in Sariah's direction with a smirk on his face, he enjoyed how her cheeks turned pink and ignored the glare he was getting from Dani.

"We should go Sariah."

"Where do you live? I could walk you there-"

"We live on the other side of the island." Dani interrupted.

Riku mentally smirked. "Well good, so do I." He noticed how Dani's eyes narrowed at the statement but Sariah's smile seemed to hold her back.

_Okay_, he decided a couple minutes later,_ this was not how I planned it._

Here he was, on the side of the side walk that was nearest to the road while Dani was in the middle, her arm linked with Sariah's. Both of them a good two feet away from him but he could feel Dani's sideways glare easily. It was almost as he was being pushed further away from them by that glare.

After several more uncomfortable moments, they reached the girls' house and Riku wanted to sigh in happiness. Maybe now he could talk to the red-haired beauty that had caught his eye out of nowhere. Deciding he would do just that, he took in a breath before saying Sariah's name, only to be interrupted by her friend.

"Come on, Sariah. Mr. Dee Dee gave me loads of homework and I need your help!" Quickly, Dani pushed Sariah inside, not caring that the girl was trying to fight it the whole way. Right before the dark hair girl had closed the door, she stuck her tongue out at Riku; her eyes squeezed shut and her aura obviously admitting annoyance.

He watched as she slammed the door shut, almost immediately followed by the sound of arguing before the door opened, revealing Sariah. Hope filled his gut and only grew as she walked towards him, not caring that Dani was watching them with a disapproved gaze.

He smirked as she got closer, his mouth moving before he could stop it. "Sariah, do-"

"Would you like to go out sometime, Riku?" she asked, her voice melodic and her smile imprinting in his memory.

_She's just full of surprises isn't she?_ With a smirk, he took a step forward and put a stray hair behind her ear, making her freckles hide behind a blush. He could hear Dani fuming behind them and it made Riku's smirk grow as he leaned in, whispering in her ear.

"Only if I can try and make you blush past your beautiful face."

Her hypnotic green eyes stared into his in that moment and he felt his breath hitch as she smiled and said, "You can try."

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**AN: **I actually loved how this chapter turned out. Oh btw, I looked over the Prologue and fixed some things, mostly misspelled words and grammar. If you happen to find anything like that in here, feel free to write it in your review along with what you think of this chapter. It'd be greatly appreciated.

- _Trembling Rose_


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